The
Pegasus image on the flag derives from a coin made by the Florentine artist
Benvenuto Cellini in 1537. This coin was created by Cellini in order to honour Cardinal
Pietro Bembo. Bembo was instrumental in the development of the Tuscan language as a literary medium and was honoured with the representation of Pegasus due to its symbolism and ties with creation. As a result, the Pegasus came to be associated as a symbol of the Tuscan region. On 11 August 1975, the 26th anniversary of the
liberation of Florence, the flag of the
CTLN was symbolically handed over to the
President of Tuscany,
Lelio Lagorio by the
mayor of Florence,
Elio Gabbuggiani, in a ceremony at the
Palazzo Vecchio. This demonstrated the symbolic adoption of the flag of Tuscany by the region. However, the flag was not officially recognised. The flag was officially adopted in 1995 following President
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro's call for the flag of each Italian region to be represented in the
Quirinale Palace. The flag is often seen flying outside of Tuscan governmental buildings throughout the region. The seat of the Tuscan Regional Government,
Palazzo Capponi-Covoni, is known as the
Palazzo del Pegaso in reference to the flag.
Republic of Siena The
Republic of Siena was a historic state consisting of the city of
Siena. It existed for over 400 years, from 1125 to 1555. During its existence, it gradually expanded throughout southern Tuscany becoming one of the major economic powers of the
Middle Ages, and one of the most important commercial, financial and artistic centers in Europe. In the
Italian War of 1551–1559 the republic was defeated by the rival
Republic of Florence in alliance with the Spanish crown. After 18 months of resistance, the Republic of Siena surrendered on 21 April 1555, marking the end of the republic. The exact appearance of the municipal flag is undetermined. The earliest evidence of its existence is recorded in the
Biccherna on the purchase of black and white fabrics to make 77 banners. The city of Siena uses this flag to this day. The famous fresco in the
Palazzo Pubblico in Siena "
Guidoriccio da Fogliano at the Siege of Montemassi" (1328), attributed to
Simone Martini, shows the black and white flags of the Siena military camps and captured castles fluttering with the flags of the commune. They are divided vertically with three tails.
Republic of Florence The
Republic of Florence was a state that was centered on the
Italian city of
Florence in
Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the
Margraviate of Tuscany upon the death of
Matilda of Tuscany, who controlled vast territories that included Florence. The Florentines formed a
commune in her successors' place.
Cosimo I, established a strong Florentine navy and expanded his territory, conquering
Siena in 1555. In 1569, the Pope declared Cosimo the first
Duke of Tuscany. The
Medici ruled the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany until 1737. After the founding of the
Duchy of Florence, the state flag became obsolete and the civil flag became the flag of the city of florence.
Grand Duchy of Tuscany The
Grand Duchy of Tuscany was an Italian
monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the
Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was
Florence. Having brought nearly all
Tuscany under his control after conquering the Republic of Siena,
Cosimo I de' Medici, was elevated by a
papal bull of
Pope Pius V to Grand Duke of Tuscany on 27 August 1569. The Grand Duchy was ruled by the
House of Medici until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737.
Francis Stephen of Lorraine, a cognatic descendant of the Medici, succeeded the family and ascended the throne of his Medicean ancestors. Tuscany was governed by a viceroy,
Marc de Beauvau-Craon, for his entire rule. His descendants ruled, and resided in, the grand duchy until its end in 1859, barring one interruption, when
Napoleon Bonaparte gave Tuscany to the
House of Bourbon-Parma (
Kingdom of Etruria, 1801–7). Following the collapse of the Napoleonic system in 1814, the grand duchy was restored. The
United Provinces of Central Italy, a client state of the
Kingdom of Sardinia, annexed Tuscany in 1859. Tuscany was formally annexed to Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the
unification of Italy.
First flag The state flag and the Medici banner, adopted in a stable form for the institutions of the Grand Duchy, survived until the accession of the throne to the
House of Lorraine. The Medici shield, whose origin is lost in legend, has red spheres on a golden field and on top, a sixth blue ball with three
French lilies, donated by King
Louis XI to
Piero di Cosimo de' Medici in 1466. The shield appears flanked by the chain of the
Order of the Golden Fleece (added in 1548) and with the Cross of the
Order of Saint Stephen (present since 1562, when the Order was founded). The crown is Florentine in shape with a red lily in the center, an ancient symbol of Florence (1251). During the Medici period, the Tuscan navy identified itself with the fleet of the Order of Santo Stefano. The official flag raised by the galleys was red with yellow borders with the Cross of the Order in the center in a white circle. It appeared after 1562 (the year of the founding of the order) and probably lasted until the end of the Medici rule. The flag known as "Livorno", for commercial use, used from the 17th century and probably survived until 1737. It comes from the flag of the Order of Saint Stephen, it is represented in many varieties and with different additions. The correct drawing is most likely the one shown here, taken from the Dutch manuscript reissued by K. Sierksma of the Flags of the World 1669-1670, with the Stefan cross surrounded by all the Medici balls.
Second flag Flag for commercial use, used in the first half of the 18th century, possibly between the advent of Lorraine (1737) and the introduction of imperial flags by
Francis II (1749). The origin and meaning are unknown, but it probably has to do with the Cross of the Order of Saint Stephen.
Third flag The state and navy flag adopted around 1749 and replaced in 1765. Francesco II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and husband of
Maria Theresa, became
Emperor in 1745.
Fourth flag Austrian flag adorned with the coat of arms introduced in 1765 with the accession to the throne of Grand Duke
Pietro Leopoldo. This flag lasted until the end of Tuscany's independence, but with two breaks during the Napoleonic period (1800-1814) and a short constitutional period (1848–1849). It was finally lowered and replaced with the
Italian tricolor in May 1859. The shield, topped, was quartered with the
coat of arms of Hungary,
Bohemia,
Burgundy and
Bar, the entire shield with the coat of arms of
Lorraine,
Austria and the Medici. The Great Coat of Arms had different versions on the flags, with differentiation mainly in orders and ornaments. Normalised only after restoration in 1815. Merchant flag introduced in 1781 and replaced with a tricolor in 1859. On the insignia reserved for large-tonnage merchant ships, it was limited to a coat of arms in the crown with the cross of Saint Stephen. The small boats used the version without the coat of arms, or with only the central shields in the canton.
Lordship and Principality of Piombino The fief of
Piombino and its territory, which for more than two centuries also included the island of
Elba, was from 1594 a principality of the empire. In 1801, it was occupied by the French who united it with Lucca in the years 1805-1809. The
Congress of Vienna did not restore a principality that became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
First flag The enigmatic banner of the
House of Appiani used from the middle ages until the loss of the principality of the extinction of the dynasty with the death of
Isabella Appiani.
Second flag The princely and state flag, adopted in 1701 when the two branches of the ruling family merged and survived until the French occupation in 1801. The arms of the Boncompagni-Ludovisi family; the shield shows the coats of arms of two branches of the family alternately: three shortened golden rings on the red background of the
Ludovisi family and a golden half-dragon on the red background of the
Boncompagni family. There are insignia of the
Holy Roman Church on the pale. Crown of the Prince of the Empire and chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Republic and Duchy of Lucca First flag State flag before 1799. It was and still is the flag of the city of
Lucca in use since the 12th century (perhaps even from the last half of the 11th century). It was practically a national flag. It was abolished with the French occupation in 1799 and the Austrian counter-occupation. When the French returned for longer in 1801, it was adopted as the national flag and remained so until 1805, when the republic became a principality. Color interpretation is uncertain. The red probably comes from the
ghibelline faction that Lucca joined in the first half of the 11th century. The merchant flag was a civilian flag for land and sea, which, according to medieval urban custom, differed from the flag of the commune. Also described (1370) are flags with two insignia joined into a single fabric. The flag and the motto "Libertas" definitely disappeared in 1799 after the French occupation.
Second flag In 1799 French
Jacobins created a centralized
republic, the State of Lucca, with a democratic constitution. The constitution granted the government to an
Executive Directory, with a bicameral legislature composed of the Council of Juniors and the Council of Seniors. The democracy did not last long. When entering the Jacobin army, the government used a flag with an additional green stripe, imitating the Italian tricolor. It is possible that this flag never really existed, but if it is a historic design, it was used for 5 months.
Third flag The nautical flag announced on 20 June 1803 (the white and red bicolour remained on land) and replaced in the summer of 1805 after the republic was transformed into a principality. The colours were both French and the combined colours of the two historic banners of the former aristocratic republic.
Fourth flag Temporary flag, yellow and red are the colors of the
Spanish Bourbons. Lucca became a duchy under the rule of the daughter of the
Spanish king.
Fifth flag The royal and state flag introduced on 7 November 1818 by Regent
Maria Luisa de Borbon-Parma, to whom Lucca was assigned after a series of provisional governments and replaced in 1824 after her death (13 March). In the center, the coat of arms of Maria Luisa with a quarter-oval shield: in 1 the coat of arms of the Medici and Farnese, in 2 Spain (Castile and León), in 3 Gonzaga, in 4 Austria and Lorraine. Usually a wheel with the colors and panther of Lucca, and generally another wheel of Bourbon. A crown above everything. The flag without a coat of arms is a merchant's flag introduced by Maria Luisa on 7 November 1818 and probably survived until her death in 1824, although a new design was introduced in 1820. A flag with a cross very similar to the former Tuscan maritime flag is uncertain in Lucca. Merchant flag certified on 1 June 1820. In theory, it was lowered on 4 October 1847, when the principality passed to Tuscany, it was in fact used in the ports of Lucca until the unification of Italy. It was a variant of the then Spanish merchant insignia, from which it differed in stripes of equal width.
Sixth flag The ducal and state flag introduced in 1824 by Duke
Charles and lasted until the principality's anection to Tuscany on 4 October 1847. Charles changed the coat of arms on the flag, replacing the mother's coat of arms with his own. The coat of arms with the Spanish lace was quartered with the arms of Lucca (I and IV) and Spain (II and III), Bourbon oval in center.
Principality of Lucca and Piombino Flag of general use adopted on 8 August 1805, with the establishment of the
Principality of Lucca and Piombino for
Elisa, sister of
Napoleon. The previous colors were kept with the blue being lighter. The change was probably to make the Lucca symbol more in line with the French tricolor. It was abolished in 1809. On 3 March of the same year, the principality was actually united with Tuscany, already incorporated into the empire, which returned, only formally, to being a grand duchy with Eliza becoming sovereign. An offshoot of the
National Liberation Committee (CLN), it was charged with organising resistance and partisan activities throughout Tuscany. Throughout the duration of its life, the CTLN adopted the symbol of a
Pegasus emblazoned on top of the
flag of Italy. The Pegasus had long been associated with Tuscany, and with the Pegasus' connotations of peace and the triumph of good over evil, made it an obvious symbol for adoption by the CTLN. == Colours ==